Liability insurance for a media company
A media company moves a complete workshop to an unfamiliar location every week. Cables, lights, stands and a changing crew: that is a different risk profile from an editorial office.
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In brief
At a media company the liability risk lies on the production. On a set, cables lie in walkways, heavy stands stand in tight spaces and the crew works with power supplies not designed for that load. If you damage the building you are shooting in, or an extra or bystander is injured, a claim follows under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. For the mistakes of your own staff you are liable under Article 6:170 of the Dutch Civil Code.
The second heavy element is staffing. Permanent staff, freelancers, agency workers and work placement students mix on a single set. Your duty of care under Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code applies under subsection 4 to anyone who is not employed by you but works under your direction: rigging at height, long shooting days, lifting flight cases. Record toolbox instructions, working hours and the presence of a responsible person on set in writing.
What does not belong on the AVB: loss caused by publication of the work produced, such as a claim about image rights, music rights or an incorrect statement in a programme. That is pure financial loss and belongs on professional indemnity insurance with a publication section. For a production that cannot go ahead, look at business interruption insurance; the basics are set out on the hub page.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB).
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What to look out for
Four provisions that are more often decisive on a film set than the sum insured.
Hired cameras, lights and generators
Almost no production runs entirely on its own equipment. What you hire from a rental company is in your in your care, and the care, custody and control exclusion takes damage to it off the AVB. The rental company does charge that damage. Take out the hire cover offered or have a care, custody and control clause included, and record the condition on collection and return.
Vehicles on and around the set
Camera cars, removal vans and generators on a trailer fall under the motor vehicle exclusion. The compulsory insurance requirement of Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM)applies to them. If your crew drives loaded vans, also look at cover for injury to staff in traffic through WEGAS and WEGAM. That is a separate section and not part of the ordinary AVB.
Drones and aerial filming
Damage caused with or by aircraft is excluded, including for unmanned aircraft. If you fly yourself or hire in a drone pilot, arrange separate liability cover and check the pilot's registration and flight category. Put the evidence of it in the production file before any flying takes place.
The location itself
Drilling into a listed wall, tape on painted plaster, a burnt floor under a light: damage to the shooting location is the most common claim. Some insurers regard a hired location as taken into your care. Ask for a clause for tenants' and users' liability and photograph the space before and after the shoot.
What does your premium depend on?
- Annual turnover: including the production budget bought in through you
- Payroll and size of the crew: decisive for the employers' liability section
- Share of shooting on location: studio work weighs less heavily than outdoor locations
- Hiring in freelancers: this affects both the duty of care and the circle of insured persons
- Special effects: fire, smoke, stunts and work at height increase the risk
- Area of cover: productions outside the Netherlands call for confirmation
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| An extra trips over a cable in the walkway and breaks an ankle | Yes | No |
| A grip you hired in falls while rigging a truss and is left unfit for work | Yes | No |
| Your power supply overloads the cafe's meter cupboard and the refrigeration with fresh stock fails | Yes | No |
| Someone filmed claims compensation because he appears recognisably in the broadcast | No | Yes |
| A participant says an incorrect statement in the programme cost him his job | No | Yes |
| The lead actor drops out, the shooting days move and the client claims the extra costs | No | No |
Everything that happens on set and everything broadcast after the edit belong on different policies.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
We were shooting in a hired building and damaged the floor. Covered?
That depends on the clause for tenants' and users' liability. Without that clause the insurer can say the building was entrusted to your care during the shoot and apply the care, custody and control exclusion. With that clause, fire, water and impact damage to the premises hired is usually covered, within a limit of its own. Have this settled in advance.
Are freelancers we hire in covered?
That differs from policy to policy. Some insurers include hired-in staff in the circle of insured persons, others do not. For your duty of care it matters less: Article 7:658(4) of the Dutch Civil Code makes you liable for injury to anyone working under your direction, even without a contract of employment. Also require liability insurance of their own from every freelancer.
An extra was injured during a scene. What now?
Report the claim to your insurer immediately; Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires notification as soon as you are reasonably aware of it. The insurer assesses liability and whether you had taken sufficient safety measures. Do not admit liability before the insurer has given its view, and keep the shooting schedule and the safety briefing.
Does the policy cover a claim about music or image rights?
No. A claim from a rights holder is about money and not about injury or damaged property, and therefore falls under the exclusion of pure financial loss. You deal with risks of that kind with professional indemnity insurance with a section for intellectual property, together with watertight records of rights clearance and releases for each production.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
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